


Let Me Get This Straight, I'm Not

by Tea_Drinking_Sweater_Wearing_Physicist



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Anxiety, Coming Out, F/M, Family Secrets, Fontcest, For Science!, Gay, M/M, Other, W. D. Gaster is not related to Skelebros
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2018-08-16 17:42:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8111500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tea_Drinking_Sweater_Wearing_Physicist/pseuds/Tea_Drinking_Sweater_Wearing_Physicist
Summary: With the barrier broken, the real science may be unleashed. Dr WD Gaster remained Royal Scientist on the surface, humans and monsters all over learning to recognise his name. Even Sans, a lazy skeleton who'd looked up to the man since he was a baby bones. Most things in his life weren't all that interesting, and the events of the day could easily be predicted. That was until he ran into his idol, literally.Their work relationship soon turns to friendship and even goes as far as to become romantic. Though easy to hide their emotions for one another behind closed doors and under sheets, things get rusty at the lab, and even around Sans' family.One thing Sans knows for certain is that his family can't ever find out that he's gay.





	1. Run in With The Doc

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans went out for a morning jog and was just about ready to get home when he ran into Gaster. After minutes of embarrassed chatter, Sans followed along to the main lab where he was given the opportunity to return to the field of science.

The sky was bright blue, a vivid shade that was bright, but not bright enough to block the blinding white of the clouds. Rays of sunshine fluttered down from the air to brighten the Earth evermore. Yes, the Earth, and yes, the surface. The Underground had finally been freed of their imprisonment after about two decades worth of life passed by. Skeletons, Snowdrakes, and goats alike were given the right to wander about towns and cities without the hate of humans to interfere.

Suddenly, a sneaker came crashing down against the sandy sidewalk beside the hot pavement of the street. Black shorts with a white stripe down the side, a white T-shirt barely dripping with sweat. All the while new hit pop music blasted from a pair of headphones that rested upon a bare skull. Arms of bones swayed to and fro as Sans jogged happily amid the warm morning light. He did this most mornings, a routine picked up to prove to his brother that he’d be ‘more active’ on the surface than he was back in Snowdin. Though that didn’t mean he was paying attention.

“Oof-” Just as he’d looked to the side, his body went flush against a taller figure ahead. “M’sorry.” Sans pulled down the headphones and took a few steps back. Paper floated down from the sky like snow in winter. Paper painted with paragraphs and charts that were falling too rapidly to comprehend. Crouching down, he began to pick up each paper, one by one. The whole time not even glancing to the person he’d run into. “It’s alright,” A man’s voice, a little higher than his own, rang out from above his head. Another set of phalanges flew down to assist with retrieving the mysterious papers.

Once everything was up off of the ground, both skeletons stood and met one another's gaze. The taller skeleton was indeed male. Thin, wireframe glasses sat on his nasal bridge, a white lab coat hung over his right arm carefully, a grey turtleneck sweater bared his chest and arms, while black dress pants and shoes hid the rest. Sans stretched out a hand to give the papers back. “Thank you.” The man nodded in appreciation as the shorter skeleton grinned.

“Yer welcome.” Sans stuffed his hands in the pockets of his shorts, his eye-lights searching over the figure once more, this time focussing on his face. Thin chin, narrowed eyes, a crack running from his left and up while another came from the left and was aimed down. Come to think of it, there were holes in the palm of his hands when he was cleaning up papers. But Sans was silently panting, and his mind was a jumble of thoughts that couldn’t trace the identity of the man before him. Still, deep down he knew him.

“Want me t’help carry some of that fer ya?” As Sans asked the question, the man stuffed the papers into a manilla folder tucked under his left arm. Remembering that his music was on, he pulled out his phone and turned it off, the headphones around his neck ceasing to boom and hum with noise. “I’ll be fine, thank you-” “I insist,” and without another word the shorter skeleton walked up to the taller, a bounce in his step, and casually lifted the folder away and into his hands. “Where ya headed?” Curiosity was laced in his voice, that stupid grin painted on as though permanent. The taller man sighed as though haven given up, and waved for Sans to come along.

Not much conversation passed as the two approached a large building in the distance. Sans still couldn’t put his finger on who the man was, and the name of the building slipped his mind out of exhaustion. So they kept on keeping on, birds flying above as they sang little songs. The sun beating down evilly as the temperature rose steadily. He thought about commenting on the weather, but knew that he’d get a simple answer. Some small talk wasn’t meant to be spoken. At last, they walked up to a set of doors, the man scrambling in his pocket for an ID or Keycard. It was in his grasp as he flashed it over a small scanner. The name read: Dr. W. D. Gaster.

That’s when Sans finally figured things out. Gears shifting and locking into place as embarrassment set in. He really was sorry for running into the Royal Scientist, and he was about to enter the laboratory which he’d always dreamt of working in. And he didn’t even look nice. Great. “Coming?” Gaster held the door, Sans’ attention finally on the doctor instead of the folder. Not wanting to waste the man’s time, he scurried in and smiled shyly. He felt like a complete idiot. First, he ran into the most famously known scientist there ever was. Second, he completely disregarded manners when speaking to him. Third, he was dressed like some lazy skeleton trying to get into shape by jogging and was inside the lab on the surface where his future would’ve been. Fourth, he spaced out and ending up embarrassing himself. A beautiful day to screw up his chances.

“Doc-” “One moment,” Gaster held up a hand for silence and turned to a dinosaur monster to his left. It was Alphys, so she flashed a smile to Sans before addressing the Royal Scientist. That gave the skeleton enough time to admire the lobby of the lab. It was enormous. Hundreds of feet of white linoleum flooring, tons of large windows to let in light and make the space appear even larger, a main desk straight ahead with a cafe to the right and lifts to the left. It was stunning to Sans. He barely whispered a ‘wow’ as the doctor called for his attention. “Sans, is it? This way please.” Not even leaving time for a response, Gaster walked to the left with Sans hurrying behind.

“I remember reading your application a while back. You skipped out on the interview, though,” The lift in front of them dinged, and they headed inside. Metal doors closed as Gaster hit a button on the left labelled -24. They were heading down in a dull silence, the scientist full of quick questions and comments for the young man on his right. Sans hugged the folder to his chest nervously, but kept a smile nonetheless. “You skipped out of fear and nerves. That’s what most people do who sign up. They doubt themselves.” More silence, and then guilt. Sans knew it would leave a stain on his name if he refused to make an appearance, and he was right.

“Sans, I’m not mad, but I am disappointed,” Gaster continued, his hands folded neatly at his lower back in respect. “Your application was the best I’d seen out of the bunch. Upon reading it, I was quite excited to meet you. But...you never came. You backed out when you would’ve been accepted within the first few seconds of your arrival.” There was yet another pause in the one sided conversation. “If you were still interested in what we do then I’d accept you right now, but you’ve most likely moved on by now.” A quiet gasp escaped Sans’ mouth as Gaster glanced to the now open doors. The shorter skeleton held the doors, his eyes wide with joy and surprise as he handed the folder over to its owner.

“Doc,” His smile-that stupidly nervous grin-faded from his face, and was replaced with awe. “I never lost interest.” The words came out hushed. So quiet that it sounded fearful to draw blood from one's ears. But that wasn’t why it was so low. “Good,” Gaster smiled down at the skeleton and walked out into a dimly lit hallway. “You start tomorrow. Me or one of my assistants will give you a call about your schedule and line of work. I expect that you’ll be prepared for this, Sans. Impress me.” Sans pulled away, the lift doors concealing the scientist as he walked away. Leaning against the sidewall, he laughed and hit the star button.

 

“This’ll be a trip.”


	2. Just Some Paperwork

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans slips into the lab to fill out the required paperwork. Though the task takes forever to complete, the trip to turn in the papers is ever more time-consuming.

It's not the best thing to hear in the morning, but it does the trick when it comes to waking Sans up. This sound is the screech of one of the most annoying alarm clocks ever-well, it's actually just a song he downloaded on his phone to set as his alarm whenever he needed to wake up. Papyrus hated it, but it woke his brother up so he didn't bother complaining. With a sleepy grunt, the older brother sat up in his bed and fiddled with the screen to turn the thing off. Despite thinking "WAKE ME UP INSIDE" as full blast was funny at the time, it was now very annoying to him. He'd heard every day for about three months now, and the humour behind it was dusted a week of the song. "Another day, another opportunity," he mumbled the encouragement to himself as he pushed himself out of bed and to his feet. He stretched his arms above his head, wondering how the day would go being it his first day on the job. He was up late the previous night, waiting for that special call from Gaster-or, one of the other scientists or mechanics or what not.

It was five in the morning, the earliest he'd ever woken up. He was in front of his dresser, pulling out some nice clothes just as his phone began to ring. His phalanges grabbed swiftly at the phone and accepted the call, clearing his throat before he raised it to his skull. "Hello?" He called out curiously, wondering who it was he's speaking to. "Ah, Sans. You know, a good morning is more appropriate than a common hello," the doctor yawned away from the phone, making Sans wonder if he even slept last night. "Anyways, I'd love to know how you are and what exquisite events you had when you returned home, but there's much more important business to discuss. Now..." There was shuffling on either side of the conversation. Sans was rummaging through his dresser still, and Gaster was flipping through what sounded like a packet of papers. Maybe paperwork maybe reports, it couldn't be said for sure.

"There are a few pages of legal questions you need to fill out before I can allow you to fully cooperate in experiments that take place here at the lab. This is in case of injury on the whilst working. Our program will provide health care for you and your kids-if you happen to have any, though I doubt that you do. What we won't be providing is frequent vacations of days off. If you want to call off for an emergency or holiday, try getting hold of me three months in advance. Well, the emergency part I can understand if you call about last minute, but you'd better not run off for no reason without informing me of your whereabouts. I apologise if all of this seems so constricting, but it is important to me that I understand your situation." Sans was nodding the whole time, attempting to break down everything the doctor was saying. It surely was a lot to take in on the first call, but it was a good amount to introduce him to the policies.

"Gotchya," Sans had finally finished slipping into the clothes he'd chosen and was heading out of his room as he spoke. "Do you want me to come over now? Or are we doing this over the phone?" He rushed down the stairs two at a time, almost knocking himself to the carpeted floor of the living room. So many thoughts were racing in his skull that he thought it might explode. That was until he saw Papyrus standing in the kitchen preparing breakfast. "Hey Paps, thanks for the breakfast but I've gotta run." He called out to his brother and held the phone away, hoping there wouldn't be a lecture about to throw down. "I'd say we can do this over the phone, but I've got extensive work to conduct, if you don't mind." Sans hurried off to the door and opened it, stopping as he heard his brothers' voice call out from behind him.

"RUNNING THIS EARLY, SANS? IN THAT?" Papyrus poked his head out from the kitchen as he stirred pancake batter. "Yeah, sorry bro." The door closed shyly behind him when-pop! One second he was before his house, and the next before the lab. "Hey Doc, where do ya want me to go exactly?" He spoke into the phone as he pushed a call button beside the door. "The lobby will do. Alphys should be there to speak with you about the forum. Whence you've completed it, just hand it to the manage at the front desk. She should be able to hold onto it for me until I have the time to review it." The door buzzed and Sans pulled it open. Again, it was intimidating. The high rising ceiling with cathedral sized glass, the polished floors with very few scuff marks, the bustling sounds of feet and conversation as the employees passed. And there was Alphys. Standing there smiling radiantly at Sans as she waited for him to approach. She was rocking back and forth on her heels nervously, hugging a clipboard tight to her chest.

"Mr Serif! I'm Dr Alphys, pleasure to m-meet you." Sans approached cautiously, his grin a stain on his face as he shook hands with her. "Pleasure t'meet ya too." She held out the clipboard and a pen and lead him over to a seat beside the front desk. Currently, no one occupied the seats there, which was a bit odd to him, though he was new. "Y-you just need to answer all of the questions on this forum and turn it in on the desk when you're complete. I'll be around if you need me, b-but I might be rather busy so maybe you shouldn't. I-I don't know. Uh, enjoy!" She blushed shyly, unsure of her own words as she scurried off, claws clacking against the flooring on her way. Sans sighed as he sat down in the chair, forgetting he was still on a call with the Royal Scientist.

"Hey, Doc, you still there?"

No response. He hung up, feeling a little guilty as he tucked his phone into the front pocket of his dress pants. Maybe he wouldn't take too long.

 

He spoke too soon. The forum took hours to complete. From questions about his past, to questions on his daily life. It was merely unbearable as he sat there, shifting in the seat as the time ticked by. Thankfully there was a cafeteria where he could pick up a muffin and a couple cups of coffee. By the time he had finished the packet of wasted time, it was already three thirty. "Shit..." He mumbled and ripped out his phone. Five missed calls from Papyrus, six texts from Frisk, and one voicemail from Asriel. The last one wasn't that important, but oh how he knew he was in trouble with his brother. He stood up and tossed out an empty cup that reeked of coffee and a greasy plastic wrapper with a blueberry on it. Still, no one was at the front desk. Sans glanced to the front doors, then the clipboard, then his phone. It was almost too much to process all at once. He decided to call the only person who could help him out first. Papyrus.

"SANS WHERE ARE YOU? I TRIED CALLING YOU BUT YOU NEVER PICKED UP."

"Sorry Pap, I'm down at the lab for a job interview, kind of. I shoulda told ya this mornin, but I was in a bit of a rush."

"WELL, OKAY THEN. BUT NEXT TIME WARN ME WHEN YOU PLAN ON RUNNING OFF AGAIN."

"Okay bro."

"I MEAN IT, SANS."

"Got it."

"ALRIGHT, I'LL SEE YOU AT DINNER THEN. GOODBYE, SANS."

"See ya then Paps." Sans hung up and looked around. Still no one at the front desk. He grunted and dialled Gaster's number, hoping that he wouldn't be scolded for calling him whilst he was performing extensive research or whatever. The phone rang for a minute or so-or at least it seemed like it did-before there was an answer.

"Sans, did you finish the forum?" He sounded like he was busy with something, but it was nothing more than scribbling with distant conversation in the background. "Yeah, I did. No one's at the desk. There hasn't been anyone since I showed up." Sans read over the front page of the packet, glancing over things to make sure everything was filled out. "Ah, I'll give you instructions to my office then." Sans' soul skipped a beat. He'd be going to the Royal Scientists' office. What an honour-no, he'd just be dropping off a clipboard and he was pretty sure cameras would catch if he overstayed his welcome. Gaster sighed into the phone, pulling it away to mumble something at someone. Sans then realised that the doctor was in a meeting. Why would he answer the phone in a meeting?! "Sounds good t'me Doc." Sans looked around, waiting for instructions as to where he'd be headed first. It was a strange thought to be lead around by a voice around the most famous lab in Monster and Human history. But it was also very familiar, for whatever reason.

"Pardon me, Sans. I'm in a meeting at the moment, but I can still give you the directions just fine," his voice was but a whisper as it imaginably grazed against the side of Sans' skull. He shuddered at the thought of them being so close. "There should be a hallway to the left of the front desk, head down there until you reach the end. On the right will be a door that will take you down a flight of stairs. Keep going down until you come to a large set of double doors. That should be the second to last floor, if I remember correctly. The lifts are down, my apologies. The hallway beyond the doors will be dark, so be careful and use your phone as a flashlight. Don't mind the boxes and shelves, I haven't had a chance to clean that passage yet. It's an older part of the lab that we sectioned off, hm, maybe not five years ago? Anyways, you'll come to a large open are with doors and halls everywhere. There's a map in the centre that lists the different names for each coordinate. Find room GL1-R36. That's where you'll find the key to my office which is on the top floor. Have fun, Sans."

He had to be pulling the skeleton's femur. A long trek downstairs and through halls to find a room that only has the office key, and then to find out the office was on the top floor and the lifts had to be out.

"I'm joking. My office is GL1-O1. Same floor, just look at the map for specific instructions. Now you may have fun." Sans could tell there was a slight smile on Gaster's face. He, too, was amused at the joke. Letting out a thankful sigh, he chuckled slightly and started walking down the first hall. "Thanks, Dr Gaster." Sans turned his phone off, ending the call, and walked carefully away from the lobby. The lab and the people in it made him feel so small and helpless. He had so many questions to ask, but not enough time to ask them all. Maybe he would get a chance to talk to the Royal Scientist, and get to know him a bit better. Maybe have him fill out a similar forum and read it over whence he's completed it. He shook his head looked to the white walls. They were surprisingly cluttered with papers and whiteboards. Schedules were posted the farther down he went, and he stood before one curiously, wondering why the lead doctor was scheduled every day of the week. Every day of the month. _Every day of the year._

It was odd, to Sans. But it wasn't completely unexpected. If one loves their work so much, why not live there? Gaster probably did, anyway. Probably stayed there every second of his life and rarely ever went home but to eat a full meal once a week before taking a nap and heading straight back to it for kicks. He wondered if he ever looked over the security film, and if he'd catch Sans staring at his schedule so worriedly. Maybe Sans was just coming up with this stuff to pass the time, but he was on a mission and didn't want to slip down the wrong hallways. Shaking his head, he wandered away from the wall and continued until there was a set of double doors on his right. They had a stair sign on them and a warning that if a fire were to break out, then whoever went down went down at their own risk. Sans hoped there wouldn't be a fire whilst he was down there. There was tapping on each step as he took his time heading down flight after flight. By the time he'd reached the bottom, he'd counted thirty floors. Why would anyone need to be so far underground? It was a lab. That's why.

"Finally," A grunt escaped his teeth, his phalanges tracing the cold metal of the doors ahead. Maybe it wouldn't be as dirty as he was imagining it. Dust, rats, shelves tipped over-but the doctor had said that there was only a bit of a mess. Sometimes creativity can get the best of ones' mind, and it sure did have a grasp on Sans'. Maybe workers had died down there and it was supposed to be a cleared part of the lab which no one was supposed to enter or exit after an experiment gone wrong. Some sort of a major accident that killed several and caused radiation. Some sort of incident that caused the Royal Scientist to-no. Nothing had happened down there, and there weren't ghosts or skeletons of Monsters and Humans that were killed on impact from some explosion after an experiment blew up in front of everyone for a reason that was simply unknown. "C'mon, Sans. There ain't nothin' down 'ere." Convinced that nothing had happened beyond those doors-that took several minutes-he pushed them open and was met with, well, dust. And shelves.

And a carcass-just kidding. A candy wrapper someone meant to toss into the trash but had terrible aim. Couldn't have been a physics major. They would've made it in, unless they so happened to be tired after a long days' work and just wanted a snack. He'd want one too if he worked the Royal Scientist's hours. Does he even get to eat? Sleep? Think? Sans had no clue how the doctor managed his time when he was scheduled every day. How had no one else noticed his wacky hours of work? Maybe it was none of his business, but it concerned him in the slightest that he was so caught up in his work.

He used to be caught up like that. It was in high school that he slacked off every other week. Somehow he kept most of his grades up. He graduated top of his class, but merely fell asleep at the podium as he wrapped up his speech. Narcolepsy. A sleeping disorder that causes one to fall unconscious at random. Most times it was from little to no sleep. But the patterns got so sporadic that it caused him issues with his health. Bad enough he worked so hard in AP classes for four years. That he took any extra math or science class he could during and out of school just so that he might have the chance at becoming Royal Scientist. Four rigorous years of advanced classes at a university didn't help with his sleep either. During that time he avoided parties, studied and practised every night, ignored his roommates, showed up to class early, raised his hand in class to ask questions, scribbled notes down, drew tons of diagrams, barely ate or drank-he was driving himself towards the end. This didn't go unnoticed. Professors and students attempted to reach out to him, noticing the bags under his eye sockets and how he was always drinking coffee and chugging energy drinks. How he managed to get his PhD with no sleep, no one knew. But he made it, and that's all that mattered. But all of that exhaustion caught up to him and he grew lazy. Showed up to the ceremony where they announced Gaster's name for the fifth year in a row, and cheered him on as the thought of being in Gaster's place fled his thoughts.

So he and Gaster weren't so different after all. Both inclined to work in the same field of study, both not in their right minds when it comes to getting the right amount of sleep when they have to work, both skeletons who's survived the genocide from decades ago. But there was one thing that was very much different. Sans looked up to the doctor, he wanted to be him. Wanted to run the lab and conduct experiments. But he knew that day wouldn't ever come, and even if it did, he'd miss the old Royal Scientist. It would be the same ceremony where they'd hold everyone in this large centre to wait eagerly. Name after name recognised as contestants for the year stood proudly on the stage. Gaster appeared to be a bit tired, a fake smile plastered to his skull as his name was announced. But by the time Sans would be standing up there, the chances of his name being called for Royal Scientist were slim. After all, Alphys seemed pretty confident that she'd make it after he...well, Gaster would never retire, but he would dust in time. The thought of that made Sans cringe, but he wasn't sure why.

Brushing the thoughts off, he continued down the seemingly ever ending hall of shelves and memos. Papers were carelessly stacked in boxes. Out of order and not even on the same subject. Shouldn't they have had a storage room for those? Sans tried not to focus too hard on another thing. One day his work would be stuffed in a box, burnt, recycled, or-so he wished-displayed in a museum. But he wasn't as good as the good 'ol Dr Gaster who was worldwide famous. More than Mettaton could ever be. Another minute of the same scenery passed before he finally made it to a large open area. Chairs lined one wall, whilst there was a room nearby where tables and a fridge could faintly be seen through the windows and dim light.

Sans walked to the middle where a map was displayed like a directory in a mall. There it was, GL1-R36. Ground Level One, Room thirty-six. That made sense at least. Suddenly, his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked around for the right hallway.

"Hello?" Sans nodded at the sign above a doorway and began the trek to victory.

"Sans! Hey, I need you to pick me up from school. Like, asap."

Asriel, of course. He should've expected that.

"Sure kid, be there in a couple minutes. I've got some stuff to-"

"Wait, nevermind! Frisk drove their car today. Thanks anyway, Sans!"

He hung up. That kid, Sans swears, is a disgrace to civilisation. Sans put his phone away yet again as his eyelights scanned room number after room number. Third room from the end of the hall, surely there it was. A control room. There were always people in there. Anybody would know that. Sans gulped as he opened the door. "Hey uh, Dr gaster sent me down to pick up his room key-"

"To your left, there's a glass box. First one on the top." There were a couple of humans sitting around computers, eating and drinking whilst they watched Sans stroll in and follow the directions he was given. It was very large to only bear seven people, so he was thinking the others were in the meeting upstairs. "Thanks." He mumbled as he took the key and opened the door.

"Hey, uh, what's a Monster like you doing in a place like this?" One of the humans rose out of their seat and tossed out their can of Orange Fanta.

"Ran into the doc th'other day, helped him carry some papers back here when he offered me a job." Their eyes went wide, which even shocked Sans. What was the big deal?

"He just, offered it to you? As in you didn't go through an interview or anything? No papers?" Another one rolled their chair closer to Sans, intrigued by the skeleton's actions.

"Well, I sent paperwork in a couple years back, but skipped out on the interview. Chickened out, I guess. He liked what he read and never forgot it er somethin'. Musta really liked what I wrote cause it's the day after we ran into each other and I'm puttin' papers on his desk to finalise the process," He shrugged and stepped out of the room. The Humans inside looked eager to hear more, but Sans had already spent enough time there. "Good talk, see ya." And before they could even reply he was out the door and down the hall, standing before the Royal Scientist's office as nerves shook his small frame. He was literally standing right before the one office he never thought he'd get to see in his entire life. And it was when Gaster himself was occupying it. Butterflies flew in his ribs as he excitedly slipped the key into the door's lock. This hall was cleaner, but Sans was too busy with the task at hand to note that.

"Mr Serif." He heard a deep voice behind him. It was Gaster. "It's Dr, actually." Sans corrected him after a soulbeat as he turned and looked up.

"I see. Glad to see you've found my office, but I lied about the key. It won't turn in the lock because it doesn't fit. I had it replaced for...privacy," The doctor pulled it out and stuffed it into a lab coat pocket, briskly replacing it with another to unlock the door for sure. "Come in." The elder skeleton walked in first, the youngest following behind as the door shut behind him. Suddenly the lock clicked and the key was on Gaster's desk-which, by the way, was cluttered with papers and folders.

"You took your time getting here, hm? Enjoy the grey walls? Or were you more interested in my days at work?" Crap. Of course, he would get caught.

"Doc," Sans gave a light chuckle, trying to put the unease in his stomach at rest. "I didn't mean to invade-"

"Don't be silly, Sans. It's on the wall for anyone who passes by to view, so don't feel special," Gaster smiled and sat down behind his desk. "Now, about your paperwork." Sans swiftly handed the clipboard-which he'd grown numb to holding-into Gaster's hands. The scientist mumbled a thank you as he read over the page quickly, skimming to make sure it was all filled out.

"It says here you've earned one PhD, five majors, and one minor...impressive," Sans' cheeks tinged blue with pride as he rocked back and forth on his heels. "You don't have to be here for me to look this over, Dr Serif. Do have a good rest of your day, I'll call you tomorrow when I've finished." He wasn't one for handshakes. Sans knew that. Every year at the announcement of Royal Scientist he merely nodded his respects and accepted the certificate.

"You too, Doc." Sans grinned as he teleported from his spot before Gaster's desk and straight to the foot of his home in Snowdin. Maybe now he would have some time to relax and talk to his brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know why, but I relate the laboratory's design to Fermilab's in a way.


	3. You're Hired and You're Fired

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans wakes up early the next morning when someone makes an unexpected visit. Paper in hand, he and Papyrus both are excited for what's to come out of Sans' new position.
> 
> On Gaster's end, he had to make a few cuts.

That night was full of stories. Frisk, Chara, Sans, Asriel, and Papyrus all having something to say about their day. Asriel had testing, Chara got into a fight, Frisk found a new group of friends to sit with at lunch, Papyrus mastered a recipe for carrot cake, and, well, what Sans did was obvious. He was drinking his regular coffee in the living room, enjoying the quiet morning, when suddenly the doorbell rang. Confused, he rose from his comfy spot and headed for the door. Papyrus was still in bed sleeping, so Sans was the only one awake in the house up to answer it. When it opened, he was left to stare up at Gaster standing in front of him with a piece of paper. Just one piece of paper. Sans started to get nervous seeing the Royal Scientist at his door and with a piece of paper that might announce the decision. The doctor gave Sans a warm smile,though.

"Hello Sans." He spoke smoothly as Sans looked Gaster in the eyes.

"Doc." Gaster looked at the paper, then at Sans.

"I went over your work last night, and I found the results to be quit impressive-or your resume was, at least. Since everything was filled out accordingly..." Sans could barely contain his excitement for what was coming. He grinned widely. 

Papyrus sneaked down the stairs and watched from the living room. It was more than a surprise that hit him as he hid behind the wall to keep from being noticed. "I've decided to allow you in," He finally handed the paper to Sans. "I look forward to working with such a smart man like yourself." He smiled at Sans. Sans took the piece of paper and read it.

It read, "Royal Scientist's Right Hand Man, Dr Sans Serif". "Thank ya so much Doc. I promise not t'be late." His cheeks were painted a bright blue in response to the gift he was granted. All the while, the Royal Scientist himself was rather amused, or so his eyes showed. The rest of his body language and facial formation showed no signs of joy or pride, merely the bare expression of serious business. It was a great way to start out the morning, though. Something exciting to look forward to. But something caught his attention. A thought that would have slipped his mind if he hadn't caught it when he did. The doctor took his time to show up in Snowdin-wasn't the same on the surface, but it was close enough-right at his doorstep. Standing there with a paper in his hand when he could've called.

"I'll see you tomorrow then, Dr Serif." Sans closed the door slowly as Gaster smiled a little and walked away. "See ya Doc!" He closed the door and leaned against it with all his might. Sans reread the paper as if to verify that it was real. He couldn't help but jump up and down and hold the paper close. Papyrus was proud to see his brother finally making it somewhere in life. Especially after years of lazing around. Sans stopped and turned toward the stair case as his brother looked down at Sans with a smile on his face. They grinned at each other like children who just got told they were going to a water park.

"I got the job, Pap!" Papyrus smiled more. "I KNOW SANS. AND I'M SO PROUD OF YOU! THIS CALLS FOR PANCAKES!" The taller of the two pointed victoriously to the ceiling with his index finger and rushed into the kitchen to begin the celebratory meal. Even though it was breakfast. Sans followed behind and set his coffee down, then headed upstairs to his room. He dug through his closet and found an old picture frame. Dusting it off, he peeled the back open and gently put the paper inside. He then went to a wall in his room and hung it from a nail. He backed up to examine his work. 

Sans was as happy as he could be, but he would have never accomplished this goal without the help of his motivational brother, Papyrus.

-  
~With Gaster~  
-

Gaster went to work like he did everyday-well, more like woke up in his office and made the trek upstairs for some fresh air after being in that basement the whole night. He wore a smile on his face, for he couldn't get the look of happiness on Sans's face out of his head. He looked so happy and thankful. It was a feeling the doctor could very much relate to. The day he graduated high school. The day he graduated from college for the first time. Graduated from a university twice. And especially the day his name was called on that stage and dubbed Royal Scientist. So understood that feeling. The only thing he didn't understand about the skeleton just yet, was why he was so...well, Gaster wasn't sure what it was just yet, but he felt something there that was strange. It was none of his business though, and he had work to do. After a couple hours passed, he went straight to the front desk, which he almost never did. The girl at the desk continued to look at her computer screen, doing some sort of work. Gaster cleared his throat whilst he lady continued to look at her screen. 

"Can I help you?" She didn't even glance up as she read through old files stored on the computer.

"Yes, please. There will be a new worker enrolled here tomorrow and it would be quite convenient if you could if you could enter in a new employee." The lady's ears perked up and she turned her head to face him. He gave her a patient smile, though he was on a tight schedule.

"Oh! Dr Gaster! I am so sorry, I didn't-" "I understand your situation, but I would greatly appreciate it if you could make an ID card and enter in information on a new employee." She nodded quickly as Gaster handed her a piece of paper with Sans's information-along with his new occupation that would take place in the lab. She took the paper and headed straight to work. 

"I should have it done in about ten minutes." She smiled at him and went straight to work. Satisfied, Gaster headed on his way to the lifts. The wait thankfully wasn't too long, and one of the sets of doors opened immediately. Whence he made it to the top floor of the building, he ran down the hall, dodging lab carts and scientists on his way. Others even dodged him as he rushed by, lab coat fluttering out behind him from the breeze. He pushed open a meeting room door, causing everyone to perk up and look at him with looks of surprise and others disappointment. 

"You're late." A short monster that looked like a cross between an elephant, a butterfly, and some sort of bird stood at the head of the room before a board. Her glare was strong, her beady eyes squinted at him through her glasses. The Royal Scientist adjusted his lab coat and walked into the room, ignoring the whispers about him on his way over to her. 

"I am terribly sorry...I had an errand to run." He stood completely still as she gave him a look over. The monster stared up at him, her stubby arms folded across her chest. "What could have possibly made you late? You're usually the first one in here." Gaster cocked his head and smiled. "We have a new member joining us tomorrow," The eyes of the others in the room lit up. There rarely ever was a new recruit to their workforce. Especially mentioned on such short notice. "His name is Dr Serif, and he is going to assisting me with my work and fill in for me when I am unable to attend events or meetings." One of the scientists chuckled as he spoke, not holding back their opinion when he's finished. 

"The Royal Scientist needs help? Ha! And when someone offers a hand he denies them." Gaster sighed heavily, expecting such a response from the others. "I was looking for someone to stay by my side all throughout my carrier, or until they retire. Someone I know is responsible, honest, and blunt. Someone with qualities much more efficient and resourceful than you, Mr Johnson." The man was awestruck, his face turned white from the comment, embarrassed that he was called out by the Royal Scientist. The woman mumbled something under breath and gestured for him to sit. He gladly took his seat near the head of the table.

"Thank you, now...we just getting into the details on our newest experiment to create artificial gravity and observe the measures at which it is possible to replicate that of the Earth's and galaxy's gravity. Dr Gaster, our leading scientist, will be running the experiment. He is also in charge of deciding who is allowed to work under himself in order to complete the Gravitron-5-0 before the end of this year." She folded her hand behind her back and paced near the white board.

"But that's only giving us eight months to complete this. Do we even have blueprints? A model? Dimensions? Anything? For heaven's sake-are the parts prepared for construction?" A lead engineer, Human, rose from her seat and frantically scanned the faces of the other scientists.

"Did somebody run the numbers on whether or not this will succeed?"

"Is this dangerous?"

"Do we have the funding to keep it up and running?"

"Everyone, calm down," Dr Gaster glanced around the room, a tinge of annoyance written on his skull. "Everything has been prepared in mind that we have the funding, the power, the workers, the statistics, and the paperwork. You will all receive the plans by this afternoon and have the option of not partaking in this experiment. The pros and cons are on the paperwork which you will sign if inclined to work with myself and others for the duration of the rest of the year. Might I warn you that I will know who doesn't agree to the terms and that those who do not sign shall still take part in the data collecting process." He looked scanned the faces around the table, heads nodding in understanding-for the most part.

"No, just, no! I'm not gonna be part of this. It's too dangerous and I don't to be linked to some freak accident or stars knows what! I'm out." Mr Johnson pushed his seat back and lifted his papers from the table. He stormed over to the door and ripped it open.

"You're fired." Gaster spoke plainly, not really caring for the man to stay on the board.

"You can't just do that! This is bullshit." He glared at the Royal Scientist, his grip on the papers clenching hard.

"Yes I can, and I just did. Now go. You've wasted enough of my time." Mr Johnson's mouth moved to talk, but it hesitated as his cheeks turned red from anger. Not a peep came from him as he closed the door and went off to his office to pack things up. Gaster turned to the others, his arms folded across his chest as a migraine kicked in.

"Would anyone else like to join him?"

There was no response.

"Good."


	4. Spring Cleaning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans shows up to work early to help the doc clean that...hallway, Sans kept making theories up for. Him and Gaster fool around a bit to pass the time, and even get to learn a bit about Sans. What comes when they finish leaves the shorter skeleton trying to catch his breath.

It was the day after Sans was accepted as a scientist and he was excited as he rushed around the house, gathering things together. In the end, he'd only grabbed a notebook connected on a clipboard, a pencil, and a pen. Would that be enough? Sans had no idea. But it was a start. Oh, wait, if he got bored there was a book he loved to read. _REALITY IS NOT WHAT IT SEEMS, THE JOURNEY TO QUANTUM GRAVITY BY CARLO ROVELLI_. He was already so far in it and just had a couple chapters to go. Rushing out of the house, he headed to his car and started the engine. Sans threw his stuff down in the passenger seat and clicked his seat belt into its home. The drive from there was short and sweet. No traffic, no red lights, just perfect. He parked in the employee parking zone and got his stuff. It was a cool and cloudy, quite the contrast from the previous day. Shaking it off, he went to the door and pushed the buzzer next to it. Someone from the front desk rushed over and opened the door. "Hello, you must be Sans, right?" 

Sans nodded. "Eyup." She smiled and gave him his ID and a thin packet. He put it all on his clipboard as she backed up and let Sans in. The lady rushed away from the door and back to her desk. The air within the building that day seemed different. Fresh, almost. Probably just his excitement radiating off of him and bouncing around in the air. He grinned and looked around, meeting Gaster's gaze as the Royal Scientist headed over. "I expected you to come early." Gaster would've smiled if only that meeting weren't still on his skull. It went horrible, in his opinion. They lost an engineer and a quantum physicist all in under thirty minutes. Johnson was no problem, but Meavel...she was a great help in the succession of the Core in the Underground. She even helped to transfer that energy up to the surface so that they could use electricity they'd spent so much effort on. Hopefully Sans would pick up their slack. Sans almost laughed out loud, his eyes showing the internal laughter quietly.

"C'mon Doc, why wouldn't I be early on my first day? Didn't wanna be late and being on time is the maximum time to show up." Gaster nodded in agreement, understanding where the skeleton was coming from. He used to be like that. Young, energetic, excited, punctual, short-wait why is that last one in there? In all, he could've been Sans. Minus the looks, the accent, and the jokes. His expression softened around Sans, this has happened during every occasion the two have been in contact with one another. Gaster checked his watch, and then the door. Deciding everything was okay, he held his hands behind himself at his lower back. "I'll lead you to your office," And that's what started their conversation. The plan of action was to take a lift down to the office level where Sans would be shown his new surroundings. All of the excitement suddenly left him, as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. But it was a good weight, so why had it fled? He didn't like that hallway. It was disturbing how dusty it was. "Would you mind helping me clean that? Come to think of it, we can head there now and converse there whilst we work." It didn't seem like a job for a Royal Scientist, but work needed to be done down there that most ignored. Besides, time to get to know the Dr was a time to hold in Sans' soul forever. They took the lift down, thankfully no interruptions stopping them on their way down. Sans stayed silent, listening to everything Gaster had to say.

"I'd like to get to know you a little better, Sans. But I don't want to hear anything about why you want to work here. Start as far back as you can remember." He blinked at Sans, his white eyelights flickering under the fluorescent light of the lift. Sans was a little surprised to hear that Gaster was interested in his personal life. They were going to be working with one another, not living with each other or befriending each other. Then again, knowing a person's backstory can help show the person asking what the one in question is like.

"Well, I don't recall ever seeing my father. Or Papyrus's, for the record. My mom raised me for four years working one job so that she had time with me. A month after I turned four is when Papyrus was born. I was...surprised-thrilled, really. But I couldn't see her taking care of two kids with one job. So she started working two. Bills went up and taxes were raised when I turned six and then she started working three. That's when I had to tell 'er to take a break, but she couldn't. She wanted to, but she couldn't. I was seven when Papyrus turned three and my mom didn't have the time to go grocery shopping, so I went instead. She knew I was responsible so she sent me off with my lil bro down to the market in the Capitol. Ran into a Flamemonster named Grillby. He ran the restaurant in Snowdin, so we'd seen each other a couple 'o times. He looked pretty concerned that I was out with Papyrus at such a young age walkin' 'round where a kid from Snowdin shouldn't be. So he scooped us up and took us home. Didn't even let me prove my point when he tried to call my mom. She checked out of her second job early. Came home lookin' just...she looked _tired_. It was heartbreaking for me to see her like that. She used to be so happy when it was just me-not that her havin' Paps was a bad thing or anything. But her having Papyrus wasn't the best idea. Anyways...she came home and completely ignore us, started yellin' at Grillby about how she had to come home from work just to clear somethin' up that coulda been avoided. He didn't even flinch when she shot a bone attack at him. Thankfully I'd taken Papyrus up before he could see that. Grillby took responsibility for us by taking us to work with him. As long as we stayed in a booth and didn't leave unless we needed something, then he was fine with us. My mom started drinking a month after the fight. Papyrus didn't get what that meant, even at six years old. I was off in elementary school kickin' ass in science fairs and gettin' straight A's. My mom didn't even notice she'd missed every show for three years in a row. Grillby tried reaching out to her, but she was too far gone. It wasn't long before I'd turned thirteen. Papyrus was almost nine when she didn't come home from work. We sat alone in the living room for hours, blaming the blizzard for her lateness. But even by morning, she hadn't come home. We never did find her. Posters were up everywhere only to be torn down. Grillby said it was murder that got her, and I tried my best to ignore that. She had to be alive. She _had_ to be. But she wasn't. It was on the news that there was a Genocide committed by a group of Monsters. The kind that believe that Skeletons are more Human. So they band together and went through the whole Underground. Sweeping through house after house, building after building, until all that was left of Skeletons was dust. So that was it. Papyrus still doesn't know what happened to her-let alone remember what she even looked or sounded like. All that's left is memories in me and Grillby."

The lift let out a dull ding, and they finally reached the bottom. Gaster let Sans out first, sympathy lined on his skull as they made their way to the underground lobby. "I'm very sorry for you, Sans. That Skeleton Genocide was a very hard time for many. Even myself," he lead the way down that hall, that filthy hall with its dishevelled papers and knocked over filing cabinets and shelves. It was honestly disgusting. The accumulating dust, the darkness that lurked against every wall and floor tile. "Do continue. We may begin this whence you're done." He leaned against one of the clean, standing shelves, adjusting how he stood to be sure his spine wasn't right up against the support beam.

"Okay," Sans sighed as he stuffed his hands in his pant's pockets. "Middle school was a breeze for me. And then it hit high school. I started getting a little lazy about homework, and focused most of my attention on projects and tests-I mean, for the dumb classes." Sans chuckled lightly, Gaster smiling pleasantly in response. "Math and science were-and are-my strengths, so I used most of my energy on those subjects instead. Sophomore year is when I started leaving Papyrus at home. I was sixteen, and Papyrus was twelve. At that age, I could at least trust him to be at home alone for an hour. At most, an hour. I started chattin' with Grillby every now and again during that year. Started exploring more of Waterfall and started rummaging around Hotland for a pamphlet on the lab. Ever since I was in first grade, I'd wanted to work at that lab. Obviously, I didn't. But now I get a chance here. So, fulfilled that dream. One dream I never got to fulfil was being at Papyrus' graduation. The day he graduated from high school was the day I went off to watch you get elected as Royal Scientist for, what, the fiftieth time in a row?"

"Okay, I'm not _that_ old." They both laughed, their smiles reaching their eyes as the wave of joy came and passed.

"So, that I never got to see. Grillby went, though. He had to, I mean that's what he said. He was like a father to us both when we were growin' up. Paps still calls 'm dad, I think. I left as quickly as I could after your big accomplishment or whatever and ran over to the school to find out that everyone was gone. Oh wait-did I mention Frisk, Chara, and Asriel moved in a week after we came up to the Surface? Never mind that," Sans shook his head and sighed, struggling to find out what time he left off at. "I missed his graduation and when I got back he didn't talk to me at all. I mean, he did in the mornin' that following day. Thank the stars for that. But he was still upset with me. I made up for it with weeks of chores. Left me sore for a month, but he was satisfied that I was staying home with him to help around the house. So I got my life together in a way. Didn't have a steady job until recently, though. I went around working at fast food restaurants making a living off of the savings I'd made in the Underground and the money I earned overtime. Bills are different up here, and the whole idea of taxes..." Sans shook his head and sighed. He'd gotten pretty off topic near the end there, the fact that the end of the month was nearing being a daunting time.

"Well," Gaster straightened up and dusted off his back. His gaze was warm as he glanced at the hallway. They had a lot of work ahead of them. "I'd like you to know that I listened the entire time, and you didn't ramble for nothing. I sympathise with you, Sans. I too lost family at a young age, though I did not have the weight of responsibility on my shoulders. I'm an only child, you see." He walked down the hall and stopped before a rusting door. Sans watched as the scientist opened it and exposed some cleaning supplies. There wasn't much, but they didn't need much.

"Yer not givin' me a lot to work with here, Doc," Gaster turned to look at him strangely, a mop gripped in one hand as he quirked an eyebrow. Sans shook his head and picked up where he left off. "I went off and spilt my whole life story for ya, and here ya are tellin' me your an only child who'd lost one of your parents at a young age. Nothin' more ya wanna say?" He approached the closet and pulled out a duster, lightly petting the fluffy ends of it in thought.

"Well, excuse me, Sans. Excuse me for not opening up right away," Gaster sounded a bit angered as he pulled out a metal bucket and walked down the hall to the lobby. "Excuse me for asking so much of you. You didn't have to share so much with me, it was your choice. Just like it's my choice on how much I would like to share." He didn't bother looking behind himself as he walked up to the drinking fountain to fill the bucket. Sans let out a guilt-laced sigh as he went to the far end of the hall where things got unnecessarily dark. He looked up at the ceiling where cobwebs made their stay. Raising an arm, he pushed the duster as close as it could get to the ceiling, but it came mere inches from it. Not close enough. He felt bad as he looked to the Royal Scientist, wondering if he'd be forgiven in time or if he was one to hold a grudge. He stared up at the ceiling, trying to think of some sort of way to reach the filthy webs that decorated the corners. One even had a spider in it. Ew.

Gaster squinted down the hall from the fountain, watching as Sans trudged over to a box and pushed it over to the corner he had just stood at. He smiled a bit, wondering if he should warn the skeleton that the box wasn't full enough to support his weight. The box's top was folded over, making it impossible to see inside unless it was to be opened. He pushed it against the wall until it made a light clunking noise and lifted one foot to stand atop it. Seemed steady. He huffed quietly and pulled himself up to rest both feet on the weak cardboard. It made a small noise of disapproval as he was finally able to dust the webs away. Sans smiled at the accomplishment, grinning towards Dr Gaster whilst the box slowly caved in on the top. Gaster chuckled and waved goodbye, leaving the newly hired confused and still dusting. "What?-" Just as he spoke, he fell through the top of the box and landed knee deep in a thick slime. At this point, Gaster was laughing as hard as could be, hiding his mouth shyly as he tried to contain himself. Tears pricked at his eyes as the expression on Sans' face shifted from unamused to disgusted.

"Doc! Yer bucket!" Sans yelled down the hall and pointed to the fountain where the metal bowl was overflowing with water. The Dr cursed under his breath and quickly pulled his hand off of the button and glared at it. This time, Sans was the one laughing. In the end, the two were both bursting uncontrollably.

"What's going on?" A mechanic passed by with a physicist as the scene played out. The other shrugged in response and walked down to their office. Sans wiped tears from his eyes and attempted to pull a leg out of the goop. This was done to no avail, sadly. Gaster abandoned his post and dragged the bucket back down the hall. The mop was tucked under his arm as he leaned back from the weight of the water.

"I was going to warn you." He chuckled once more and set the bucket down near the double doors. "Why didn't you? What even _is_ this?" Sans tried again to pull himself out, staring down at the clear-like slime. It looked like mucus. Gaster sighed and leaned the mop against a nearby wall, eyes still showing that he was amused. His steps were slow towards the corner which Sans was trapped within. Somehow, things began to lighten a bit. Sans could feel his cheeks grow warm as the Dr neared closer and closer. He was at a loss for words as arms warmly wrapped around his ribs. His soul beat hard in his chest, his breath heating up as the tension grew. Gaster's eyes wandered over Sans' vulnerable body. But they weren't like that. This wasn't going where they thought it was going. Suddenly, his legs were ripped from the goo and his feet were on the tiles of the hallway.

"Th-thanks, doc." Sans' blush was a bright blue as he rubbed the back of his neck, he was handed the duster, suddenly-he must've dropped it. Gaster's cheeks were a tint of purple, but it was barely noticeable as he backed away and picked up the mop. "Maybe we should switch..." Gaster glances up at the ceiling, then at Sans. "Yeah, hehe."

-  
~Later~  
-

The hall was bright and shining, Sans and Gaster standing at the end of the hall hands on their hips as they admired the work they finally completed. "Thank you again, Sans. This really was a daunting task for me to complete, and it got done thanks to your help," he smiled down at Sans, who seemed to be squinting at a shelf. There was a set of keys sitting on the middle shelf. "Oh, can't forget those." The Royal Scientist scurried over and picked the keys up. Both of them looked at one another for a moment, eyes meeting for a split second.

"So, uh, wanna get some grub?" Sans grinned as he wiped sweat from his skull. It sure had felt like hours had passed, as if it should've been dinner already. But it was only two in the afternoon. Surprise, surprise, time sucks.

"That would be lovely, Sans, but I have-"

"C'mon, doc. You've gotta be hungry after all that work. An' I'm pretty sure yer papers can wait thirty minutes for you to refuel." Sans nudged Gaster playfully and winked at him.

"Oh Sans," Gaster shook his head and brushed past his assistant. "Maybe another time. I've got to check on the others and see what they've accomplished." He headed straight for the lift, Sans stuck in his spot for a moment before he registered that he was alone.

"Hey, wait! What about dinner?" Sans reached out to gaster as he entered the lift.

"Six post meridiem, I'll send you coordinates later. Don't be late." Just like that, the doors closed, leaving Sans standing there like a dog without command. He'd be going to dinner with the Royal Scientist.

His boss.

His idol.

His crush.


	5. Date With The Doctor-Oops, Not a Date

"Hey, Paps." Sans strolled home like he did most days after work or a run. His brother was on the couch beside Frisk, the two of them were eating leftover lasagne from the previous night.

"OH SANS! WELCOME HOME. HOW WAS WORK?" Papyrus looked over from his seat and smiled cheerfully. Always so cheerful. How'd he manage that? Sans smirked in return. Frisk sat up, shifting to stare at him on her knees. She wraggled her eyebrows at him and giggled. "Yeah Sans, how was work with your Royal Scientist~" Sans immediately burst into a fit of blushing, his grip on the doorknob tightening before he let go of it and tried to calm himself down.

"Work was great, just cleaned a hallway up that looked world war two broke out," he walked in and over to the couch, hand resting on the arm whilst he glared Frisk down. "And it's not like that, Frisk." She rolled her eyes at him and stuck out her tongue. "Where's Trouble One and Trouble Two?" Sans looked to the kitchen which was dark.

"Asriel and Chara went out to Grillby's for dinner." Frisk yawned as she rose from the couch to turn the TV off.

"COULD YOU HIT THE LIGHTS FIRST, FRISK?" Papyrus pushed the blanket he had been wrapped up in off of himself and stretched his arms above his head. Frisk turned on the lights and then moved to turn the TV off, eyes one Sans the whole time as she patiently waited for information on his and Gaster's "relationship".

"Speaking of dinner, I'm headin' out with the doc tonight. Nothing personal, _Frisk_. Shouldn't be any longer than an hour. Or two." Sans chuckled at the thought of spending quality time with the Royal Scientist. He knew it wasn't good to get attached to coworkers-and it was even worse with employers. But he couldn't help but feel fuzzy and warm around the doctor. He didn't know why he felt the way he did, but he did know one thing. No matter how much the feelings grow, he couldn't allow himself to confess them to Gaster.

"Dinner with Dr Gaster? Ooooo~ What a treat Sans. Are you gonna drink a little and head to his place? Maaaaybe, kiss him??" Frisk made a sloppy smooching noise and giggled.

"Frisk, cut it out! It's not like that. He's my boss, not my-"

"Fuckbuddy?"

"LANGUAGE, FRISK!" Papyrus was standing and folding the blanket as the two barked back and forth. He shook his head and sighed before his usual smile returned. He turned to his brother and hugged the fabric close to his chest. "WELL, SANS, WHATEVER IT IS YOU TWO DO WITH ONE ANOTHER, I'M FINE WITH IT. JUST TEXT ME EVERY FEW HOURS SO I KNOW YOUR SOBER. AND HAVE FUN!" He tossed the blanket to Frisk and leaned down to hug Sans close.

"Thanks, bro."

-  
~DATING START~  
-

A quiet ding echoed from the double doors at the head of the restaurant. Sans let Gaster in first, quickly following in tow as a woman smiled at them from behind a small counter. "Good evening gentlemen, will it just be two tonight?" She slipped her fingers down to a shelf where the menus were and held two at her side. Sans nodded and gave her a polite "yup". Gaster shot him a look for the improper language but carried on nonetheless. Both scientists closed in behind the waitress as she led them to the back. There, a quiet booth sat snuggly tucked away in the corner of the dining area. Gaster slid into one side of it, whilst Sans did the same on the opposing side.

"Thank you." Gaster smiled at the waitress as she nodded her respects and set the menus before each of them. She left just in time for the younger skeleton to sink into the leather of the seat and flip through his menu. Gaster lifted his after a moment, numbing over what he might like to drink. He knew that he couldn't drink strong alcohol, not in front of an employee, and there was no way he would settle for something fizzy like soda. Seconds later, a man clad in a fine uniform fit for serving came over, notebook at the ready.

"Good evening, gentlemen. I'm Clarence, I'll be your waiter for the night. May I start you both off with something to drink?" He grinned at the two, waiting for each to respond. Sans set his menu down and glanced up casually.

"Hey, Clarence, pleased to meet ya. I'll have a long island iced tea, please." Sans pulled his ID swiftly from his pocket to show the waiter, who nodded with a soft smile and scribbled the request down. Gaster, on the other hand, seemed a bit shocked at the skeleton's choice of drink but held his protest back for when Clarence leaves.

"And for you, sir?" Both seemed expectant yet patient as they stared at the Royal Scientist. His eyes frantically searched the wide range of drinks on the pages in his hands, hoping to come across anything that he might be able to hold down.

"I'll take a glass of cesari ripasso bosan, please. Oh, and a glass of water as well." Gaster wore an apologetic smile as he looked to the waiter. He didn't seem to mind at all that the doctor took his time. _Must be used to it._ Gaster thought as his request was also written down.

"I'll be right back with those drinks for you both." Clarence looked between the two in the booth before he briskly walked away to the bar for the drinks. All the while, Sans was leaning on his elbows as he admired the older skeleton.

"I see you're taking things easy." He chuckled lightly, pulling his menu close to his chest so it was out of the way.

"Of course I am, Dr Serif. It would be inappropriate to knock back a strong drink in front of one of my former colleagues. As for you, I see you have no respect for taking things easy over dinner with your boss. Really, Sans." Gaster sighed out of pure disapproval. He really didn't think it right that the first impression he got of Sans on a personal level was that the skeleton drank rather strong beverages. Hopefully, Sans would have his fill after one drink because the doctor didn't think he'd be able to handle someone who was drunk. Hopefully, he could hold his liquor, too.

"Doc, I don't think I should hav' ta change how I am over the sake of your own standards. I'm only gonna have a couple. I usually drink more than four, but I'll stick to two tonight." Sans grinned dumbly, wondering why it was such a big deal to Gaster that he drink something so 'strong'. It was a bold move to order such a drink, but he needed to wind down for the night, and the only way he knew how was to drink.

"I'm curious, why exactly did you want to have dinner with me? It can't simply just be because I haven't had a break and you're concerned." Gaster barely reacted when his their drinks were set down before them. He mumbled a thank you, the waiter running off seeing that the two were busy making conversation. The two of them hadn't even skimmed through the food portion of the menu yet. Sans shuffled in his seat, appearing to be uncomfortable in a way.

"Well, now that I'm part a the team an' all, I wanted to get to know what we're gonna be workin' on. I was gonna ask you tomorrow at work, but I thought I shouldn't pull time out of your work to ask what exactly it is that you're working on." Sans didn't bother unwrapping his straw and lifted the drink to his mouth to take a sip. The alcohol burned in his throat for a moment, a sense of familiarity washing over him as the flavour settled on his tongue. He set it back down without another word, studying how the doctor's facial expression faltered for a moment.

"You asked me out to dinner to speak about what you'll be assisting me with. If this were a school situation, I'd be fired for complying to meet with a student outside of the building," Gaster rubbed the side of his face with the palm of his hand, a heavy sigh escaping past his lips as he stared blankly at his drink _This is so unprofessional, can he even comprehend that?_ The silence ebbed on, the only noises interrupting their daze being that of the quiet hum of conversations drifting about the room so carelessly. The ever so rare clank of glass against metal from the kitchen was barely audible from their stance. He tried to back away from the thought of how unsuitable the situation was and decided it best to answer the newly hired. If he was going to go into that, though, he was going to need a few sips of his wine. He set the glass down thoughtfully, wondering where he should even begin. Sans sat patiently as he drew a couple sips from his drink again, eye lights dropping to the tabletop for a moment. "Where do I start?"

Sans shrugged as he tilted his skull back up to gaze at his superior. "Anywhere ya want, I guess." _He guessed._ Gaster sighed as he collected his thoughts. "Well," he started quietly, still pondering. "You seem to already know Dr Alphys Marie. She's had her fair share of experience, both Underground and here on the Surface. Knowing her was quite helpful during the interviewing process when it had started up during the completion of transfers from there to here. She's very serious when it comes to her work as leading engineer. Very anxious though. Constantly asking questions about if things are right or not, wanting to make sure everything is perfect before any experiments are launched and tested. Sometimes she gets on my nerves, to be honest, but she is a friend and scientist that I wouldn't change a bit." Sans took a moment to chuckle and nod. He was very familiar with how Alphys could be at times-or, most times, rather. "Next is Dr Morkett Fraischer. He's leading mechanic with fours years of experience underground, and five above. He's always late by three minutes and reeks of alcohol. He's grumpy, annoying, ignorant, I could go on forever. Dr Venice Mccuen, second engineer. Optimistic yet introverted. Very hopeful and trustworthy. They hold a PhD in engineering, as their position should have proved enough so. Their only problem is communication, they're very antisocial. They've only had two years of experience here on the surface, none in the Underground, being that they're Human. Smart, though, I'll give them that. There's a lot of potential in them. That's why Dr Alphys insists on keeping them around. Then, there's Dr Carrie Le Toi Accord...stars forbid I pronounced her name wrong again."

"Carry le twa a-cord, doc. Not Carry lay toy ack-ord."

"Yeah, that's how," Sans smiled as he drank again, Gaster clearly annoyed as he rolled his eyes. "She's the third engineer who minored in engineering and earned a PhD in Emergency Health Care, I think. Strange, I know it must be, to have hired someone who belongs in a hospital saving lives. But she's quick thinking and calm, so her skills are worth having handy. I don't think you'll catch her a moment without a mug of tea. Well, she won't have it around anything mechanical, thankfully. Next is Dr Devion Michael Seagon, the second engineer with seven years of experience here on the Surface in his field. He's old, so he's stubborn and slow. But he gets everything done correctly and efficiently. Dr Seagon refuses to help many other scientists with their work, so avoid him if you ever need any. Lastly, there's Dr Mia Kavier, the third mechanic with six years of experience under and five years here. She's a Water Elemental, which almost sent her out the door of the meeting room the second she walked in. I think she could tell I was unsure because she was about to walk out when I called her back. I needed to know if she was qualified for the job despite her Monster type not being the most suitable for the line of work. She had the motivation and the right credentials, so she was in. She's slow, has a short attention span, but very good at her job." Finally, with a break from the introductions, Gaster lifted his glass and sipped from it. Maybe the server would finally return now that they'd broken from the conversation.

"What about yerself and me?" Sans set his glass down and leaned in on his elbows. "Dr Serif, is it really necessary for me to evaluate the two of us-?" "Yes, it is. Self-reflection is important for yer mental health, ya know." A moment passed where they were silent, and the waiter took that as an opportunity to come over and take their orders. After all, why would anyone go to a fancy restaurant for just a couple drinks and conversation?

"Are you ready to order, or do you need more time?" He looked tired as he stood there, notebook in hand to scribble their meals down. "Ah, yes, we are. Thank you for your patience." The two ordered their respective meals and he repeated them back. After assuring the orders were right and the waiter had run off, the two turned back to one another to continue.

"I suppose you're right," Gaster fidgeted with his wine glass, not sure how to describe himself. "My name is Dr Wing Ding Gaster. I am the leading scientist and the project director here on the Surface and Royal Scientist of the Underground. I have fifteen years of experience from under and five years from over. I take my job very seriously with barely any time free from the confinement of the laboratory. I'm lucky to have come across your kind opportunity, Dr Serif. It means a lot to me." He gave the shorter skeleton a warm smile of thanks, causing him to blush. Sans brushed it off and leaned back again.

"Oh please, doc. If I wasn't gonna notice, someone woulda and done the same thing."

"I don't think you know the people there to understand the chances of that happening-"

"Whatever, doc. Someone woulda noticed that you weren't so clean an' lookin' like you've been sleeping on a cot fer eight months. Someone's gotta keep you in line, doc. It ain't healthy." It was true. Gaster wasn't fairing too well. He avoided leaving work at all costs and insisted on downing coffee shots to get work done before the due date. When was the last time he'd even had a full meal?

"I don't need anyone to look after me. I'll get better on my own," Gaster waved a hand dismissively and tucked his hands under the table. "Back to the original topic, now. Dr Comic Sans Serif. Not a single year of experience under your belt, yet here you are. You work as my right-hand man and as a second leading scientist. A PhD in Astrophysics and another in Quantum Physics. You're loyal, humorous, hardworking, and handsome." He barely caught the word as it had slipped from his lips. Sans was handsome, but how could he allow himself to slip up like that?

"What was that last part?" Sans was shocked at the compliment. So perfectly played, it was. But the Royal Scientist wasn't one to say such things, so what had gotten into him? Sleep deprivation? The wine? Both? It was a mystery. He chuckled and rubbed his warm cheeks with a hand. "Awe, doc. That's really sweet of ya. Yer not to bad yerself." Now Gaster was blushing. And that's how it would be for the rest of their meal. They'd eat in peace and split the bill, then head outside and look up to the sky. Admire how bright the stars were in contrast to the black of the sky. It was beautiful. Both of them had to admit it. Gaster smiled, his hands stuffed away into the pockets of his pants.

"Beautiful night, isn't it? It sure does beat the ceiling in Waterfall." His eyes trailed over the shorter skeleton who seemed entranced in the night's spell.

"Sure does," He tore his eyes away and met Gaster's gaze. "I had a great time with you, doc. We should do this again sometime, yeah?"

"Hm, I'll think about it. Have a good night, Sans." And with that, the Royal Scientist strolled away, down the dark of the streets to-hopefully-his home. Sans stayed there for a couple moments, watching as the figure in the distance soon disappeared from sight. The air beside him turned cold without the presence of his boss. It was lonely and unsettling. He missed the energy that once hung nearby. Missed the warm feeling that would send his face aflame and his soul into a loop of fast beats. They barely even knew one another, so why was he so caught up in the guy? Shaking his head, he checked his phone for any missed messages from Papyrus and began the trek home.

~Later~

When Sans arrived home at ten pm, he opened the door to something he thought he'd never see in his entire life. His parents were standing in the kitchen with Papyrus. It seemed like they were catching up. Quietly, he closed the front door behind him and made his way towards the stairs. "Sans! You're home late. Where were you?" This wasn't going to go over so well.


End file.
